Children’s Privacy in Pediatric Wards in Teaching Hospitals Affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences: 2014 - 2015

Patients’ privacy is an important ethical responsibility in medicine and an inseparable part of treatment. Children’s privacy is no exception. Children’s rights to privacy are recognized under the Children’s Rights Convention as part of good medical practice. Few studies have examined children’s privacy in Iran or in other countries. Thus, the present study was designed to investigate views expressed by relatives who accompanied sick children to the hospital about various aspects of the children’s privacy. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, data on two dimensions of privacy (informational privacy and physical privacy) of children in pediatric wards were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire from 90 individuals who accompanied children (90 children, 57.8% boys and 38.9% girls) to hospitals (Imam Hossein and Mofid) affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The data were analyzed using SPSS-18 software. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated, and t-tests and ANOVAs were performed. With regard to the two dimensions of privacy, informational privacy was respected more than physical privacy. No significant relationship was observed between the observance of privacy and duration of the hospital stay or admission ward, but there was significant linear correlation between the number of beds in a room and informational and physical privacy. The mean score for respecting privacy increased in accordance with the child’s age, with the overall mean score significantly higher in the 11 - 14-y age group than the other age groups. Information disclosure occurred mainly through conversations with parents (52.2%) and during rounds (30%). Very little information disclosure (1.1%) occurred via discussions between personnel and discussions with parents. Hospital authorities investigated 40% of complaints about privacy violations or disclosure of a sick child’s information. The results showed that the level of respect for informational privacy was relatively acceptable. However, the level of respect for physical privacy was poor. Therefore, it is essential to provide appropriate training on the issue of children’s privacy, especially physical privacy (e.g., using separate rooms and ensuring that medical staff knock before entering a room), and to ensure that rules governing children’s privacy are followed.